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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)
| screenplay = | story = | based on = | starring = | music = Bear McCreary | cinematography = Lawrence Sher | editing = | studio = Legendary Pictures | distributor = | language = English | country = United States | released = | runtime = 132 minutes | budget = $170–200 million | gross = $177.8 million }} Godzilla: King of the Monsters (released as Godzilla II: King of the Monsters in some markets) is a 2019 American monster film directed by Michael Dougherty and written by Dougherty, Zach Shields, and Max Borenstein. A sequel to Godzilla (2014), it is the 35th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the third film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. Invasion of Astro-Monster was the first Godzilla film to be co-produced between a Japanese studio (Toho) and an American studio (UPA). The first Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio was the 1998 film of the same name.|name = americangodzilla|group = Note}} The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. It is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno and original Godzilla suit performer Haruo Nakajima, who both died in 2017. In the film, humans must rely on Godzilla to defeat King Ghidorah, who has awakened other Titans to destroy the world. The sequel was green-lit during the opening weekend of Godzilla, with original director Gareth Edwards expected to return. After Edwards left the project in May 2016, Dougherty, who had been hired in October 2016 to re-write the script with Zach Shields, was announced as the director in January 2017. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped in September 2017. Godzilla: King of the Monsters was theatrically released in the United States on May 31, 2019. It received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the visual effects, musical score, and action sequences but criticism aimed at the underdeveloped human characters and thin storyline. A sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong, is scheduled to be released on March 13, 2020. Plot Paleobiologist Emma Russell works for crypto-zoological organization Monarch to track down and study Titans, giant monsters that once dominated the Earth. She and her daughter Madison witness the birth of a giant larva dubbed Mothra. Emma calms Mothra down with a device, the "Orca", which is capable of emitting frequencies that only Titans can hear. Mothra becomes docile, until an organization of eco-terrorists, led by Alan Jonah, attack and kidnap both Emma and Madison. Mothra manages to escape and cocoon herself underneath a waterfall. Monarch scientists and soldiers led by doctors Ishirō Serizawa and Vivienne Graham approach Mark, Emma's ex-husband, to track down Emma and Madison. They follow Godzilla to Antarctica and realize Jonah intends to free a Titan encased in ice called "Monster Zero". Jonah's team ambushes the Monarch soldiers and Mark is unable to rescue Emma and Madison. Emma frees and awakens Monster Zero. The Titan begins rampaging until Godzilla emerges and the two engage in a fight, which ends with Monster Zero killing Graham and flying away. Monarch finds out that Jonah's next target is in Mexico when they are contacted by Emma, revealing her involvement with Jonah all along after being fueled to finish her research following the death of her son, Andrew, during the 2014 attack on San Francisco. In Mexico, Jonah orders Emma to wake up Rodan. Monarch's jets lure Rodan to fight the approaching Monster Zero, who defeats Rodan. Godzilla emerges from the ocean and engages Monster Zero again, tearing off one of its heads. In the midst of the battle, the military launches a missile known as the “Oxygen Destroyer” towards them, seemingly killing Godzilla, who sinks into the ocean. Monster Zero survives and regenerates a new head. Rodan becomes submissive to its rule as Monster Zero awakens all the dormant Titans. Through mythological texts, Dr. Ilene Chen reveals that Monster Zero is Ghidorah, an ancient alien who serves as Godzilla's primary rival for apex predator. Mothra emerges from her cocoon and flies to the Bermuda facility in the ocean where it is able to communicate with Godzilla, who had survived the detonation and is recuperating in a chamber inside an ancient underwater city. Monarch uses the communication frequency to locate the pair. There, Mark and a Monarch team board a submarine to revive Godzilla, as they realize the natural process could take years. They decide to detonate a nuclear weapon, allowing Godzilla to feed on the radiation, but due to earlier damages the submarine suffered from a vortex, the weapon system is offline. Serizawa sacrifices himself when he manually detonates the weapon, which revives Godzilla. In Boston, Emma realizes that the destruction Ghidorah and the other Titans will bring is far worse than what humans could inflict, but Jonah ignores her pleas to turn back. Madison overhears this and steals the Orca. In Fenway Park, Madison broadcasts a frequency that attracts all the Titans to its location. Ghidorah arrives in Boston and attempts to destroy the Orca, with Godzilla appearing with Monarch's assistance to engage it. Mark leads a Monarch team to rescue Madison and escape the city before Godzilla emits a thermonuclear explosion. Mothra and Rodan arrive and fight each other while Godzilla battles Ghidorah. Mothra defeats Rodan but is disintegrated by Ghidorah. Mark, Emma, and Madison are reunited. They restart the damaged Orca in order to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla, who is injured. As they are evacuated, Emma dies when she drives away with the Orca in order to lure Ghidorah away from Mark and Madison, allowing them time to escape. Godzilla recovers and, now glowing red due to absorbing Mothra's disintegrated essence, burns away Ghidorah with thermonuclear pulses. Rodan and the other Titans converge on Godzilla and bow to him. During the credits, it is revealed that Monarch has divulged their information on the Titans to the public. News clippings show a second Mothra egg being discovered, Titans converging on Skull Island after many healed the planet due to their presence, and ancient paintings of Godzilla battling Kong. In a post-credits scene, a fisherman reveals one of Ghidorah's decapitated heads to Jonah, who buys it. Cast * Kyle Chandler as Dr. Mark Russell: . After suffering a loss, Mark has an unfavorable opinion of the Titans, Godzilla in particular. Despite this, he joins a rescue mission along with Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham to save Emma and Madison from nefarious forces. Chandler spoke of the film's themes being about "healing the planet".}} * Vera Farmiga as Dr. Emma Russell: She and Madison are kidnapped by a mysterious organization interested in her technology, with their own plans for the creatures. Farmiga has described her character as being a "DJ for the monsters", stating, "She has figured out a way to communicate with the creatures..." She also described the film being about "saving the environment." Farmiga noted that while the previous film focused on a father/son relationship, King of the Monsters focuses on a mother/daughter relationship. Due to this, Farmiga believes the film may pass the Bechdel test. }} * Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell: Lexi Rabe plays a young Madison under her credited name of "Alexandra Rachael Rabe."}} * Bradley Whitford as Dr. Rick Stanton: * Sally Hawkins as Dr. Vivienne Graham: * Charles Dance as Colonel Alan Jonah: After previously stalking Emma and attempting to raid some of her labs around the world, he takes her and Madison hostage to gain control of the Orca and further his agenda. Dougherty described Jonah as a mysterious character with conflicting ideas about the Titans' role in the world, believing that mankind has damaged the planet and bringing back the Titans will potentially set things right. }} * Thomas Middleditch as Dr. Sam Coleman: }} * Aisha Hinds as Colonel Diane Foster: * O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Jackson Barnes: * David Strathairn as Admiral William Stenz: * Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishirō Serizawa: * Zhang Ziyi as Dr. Ilene Chen and Dr. Ling Chen: With her twin sister Dr. Ling, Ilene is a third generation Monarch operative in her family, having joined the agency like their grandmother and mother before them.}} Joe Morton appears as an older Dr. Houston Brooks, a character that originally appeared in Kong: Skull Island and was previously portrayed by Corey Hawkins. Additionally, CCH Pounder portrays Senator Williams, Anthony Ramos portrays Staff Sergeant Anthony Martinez, Elizabeth Ludlow portrays First Lieutenant Lauren Griffin, and Jonathan Howard portrays Asher Jonah, while Randy Havens portrays Dr. Tim Mancini. Tyler Crumley portrays Mark and Emma's son Andrew who was killed during Godzilla's fight with the MUTOs in San Francisco. Kevin Shinick cameos as a weatherman. Through motion capture, T.J. Storm reprises his role as Godzilla, while Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton portray the heads of King Ghidorah. Liles also portrays Rodan via mo-cap. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah were credited as themselves. Production Production credits * Michael Dougherty – director, co-writer * Zach Shields – co-writer, executive producer * Barry H. Waldman – executive producer * Dan Lin – executive producer * Roy Lee – executive producer * Yoshimitsu Banno – executive producer (posthumous) * Kenji Okuhira – executive producer * Scott Chambliss – production designer * Louise Mingenbach – costume designer * Sarah Finn – casting director * Guillaume Rocheron – visual effects supervisor * Tom Woodruff Jr. – effects and creature designer Development Gareth Edwards, the director of 2014's Godzilla, stated that he wanted Godzilla to work as a standalone film with a definitive ending, and he opposed suggestions that the ending should leave the film open for a sequel. He said that he had no problem coming back to do a sequel if the film did well, but his main concern was delivering a satisfying experience with the current film, "I want a story that begins and ends, and you leave on a high note. That's all we cared about when we were making this; just this film. If this film is good, the others can come, but let's just pay attention to this and not get sidetracked by other things." After a successful opening of $103 million internationally, Legendary green-lit the Godzilla sequel with plans to produce a trilogy and Edwards attached to direct. At the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, Legendary confirmed that they had acquired the rights to Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah from Toho. A short teaser clip showing concept art of all three with the ending tagline "Let them fight" was shown. Other details of their appearances in either of the two sequels were not announced. In August 2014, Legendary announced that the sequel would be released on June 8, 2018, and that writer Max Borenstein would return to write the screenplay. In April 2015, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stated that he was unsure if he would reprise his role for the sequel and that his return depended on Edwards' decision. In October 2015, Legendary announced plans to unite Godzilla and King Kong in a film titled Godzilla vs. Kong, set for a 2020 release date. Legendary plans to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and ... King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new." While Legendary will maintain its home at Universal Pictures, it will continue to collaborate with Warner Bros. for the franchise. In May 2016, Warner Bros. announced that Godzilla 2 would be pushed back from its original June 2018 release date to March 22, 2019. That same month, Warner Bros. revealed that Edwards had left the sequel to work on smaller scale projects. Edwards also felt that Legendary "needed to get on with things" instead of waiting for him to finish work on Rogue One but expressed his hope to work on Godzilla again one day. In October 2016, it was revealed that Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields (both of whom worked on Krampus) would write the screenplay for Godzilla 2. A day later, it was reported that Dougherty was also in negotiations to direct Godzilla 2. That same month, Legendary announced that production would also take place at parent company Wanda's Qingdao Movie Metropolis facility in Qingdao, China, along with Pacific Rim: Uprising. In December 2016, Legendary revealed that the official title for Godzilla 2 would be Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In January 2017, Dougherty was officially confirmed as the director. Dougherty confirmed that he was offered to direct first before being offered to re-write the script. When asked about his reaction after being offered to direct the film, Dougherty stated, "'Yes.' That was my reaction very, very quickly. I felt flattered, honored...and that continues to this day. It was a dream come true. And lots of pressure. Immense, immense pressure." Dougherty described the film as: While Dougherty loved Gareth Edwards's slow-build, Dougherty revealed that his film will "definitely take the gloves off for this film. No holding back." While comparing his film to Edwards' film, Dougherty stated, "I would call (my movie) the Aliens to Gareth’s Alien." Dougherty elaborated by noting the balance between serious and "fun, tongue-in-cheek moments" from Aliens and that King of the Monsters takes a similar approach. Writing In September 2014, it was revealed that Max Borenstein would return to write the script. Borenstein later spoke about the sequel, stating, "The response to the first film was really exciting, but now that that world is established, we can do bigger and even better things." While promoting Kong: Skull Island, Borenstein mentioned that one thing he aimed to do in the Godzilla sequel is make Godzilla more empathetic for the audience, stating: }} For Dougherty's script, he and his team "started over from scratch". Dougherty began with a rough two page treatment that contained basic beats and rough sketches of the characters. Afterwards, a writer's room was assembled that was ran by Dougherty and co-writer/executive producer Zach Shields. They brought in other writers that contributed to building on the treatment. The script took a year to come together. Dougherty also changed, revised, and improved lines during filming and post-production. Dougherty felt the struggles of writing the script were balancing the monster spectacle "while still creating a story with human characters that we care about." While the previous film focused on Ford with Monarch in the background, Dougherty wanted the film to be focused on Monarch, feeling there was an opportunity to craft the organization as a group of heroes. Due to this, the film became an ensemble piece. Creature design |align=right|width=30em}} The film reclassifies the monsters' designation from "MUTOs" to "Titans". For the monsters, Dougherty wanted their designs to emit a godly presence and evoke a sense of worship, stating, "Primitive man saw these creatures, and you want to give them a presence that would make him drop to his knees and bow to this god…It can’t just look like big dinosaurs. Jurassic Park has that covered. These have to be distinct. They have to be their own thing. They’re Titans." The director instructed the designers to look at the original designs from every era and "distill those silhouettes and those key traits into something more modern." It was important for the director that the Titans were not just simply treated as monsters but "very large animals with a distinct thought process." For Godzilla, Dougherty wished to put back the "God in Godzilla". He liked the design that Gareth Edwards and Matt Allsopp conceived but wanted to tweak it by adding the dorsal plates of the 1954 iteration, as well as making the claws and feet bigger to make Godzilla look like a more powerful predator. The director had the sound design team expand on Godzilla's roar by making it sound closer to the roars of the 1954 incarnation, stating, "I think they did a great job with Godzilla’s roar in the first movie. I pushed them a little bit further to bring it even closer to the (1954) original even more." For Rodan, elements of volcanic rock were added to the scales and skin color to make Rodan look capable of living inside of a volcano. Dougherty wanted Rodan's design to resemble something that "Mother Nature could have created". The designers were instructed to not just look at Pteranodons but at various birds such as vultures, eagles, and hawks due to birds being similar to dinosaurs. Dougherty described Rodan as a "a bit of a rogue... you never quite know where his loyalties lie". The director further described Rodan as a "massive A-bomb" that brings "speed and ferocity". Tom Woodruff Jr. and Amalgamated Dynamics provided the design for Rodan. For Mothra, Dougherty wanted to create something that was "beautiful, and feminine, and elegant, and looked like a true goddess, but also dangerous if she had to be". He attempted to remain faithful to the color palette of the original 1961 incarnation and retaining the eye-spots on her wings. The eye-spots were designed to resemble Godzilla's eyes in order to create a connection between Mothra and Godzilla. Mothra was designed to resemble real moths and given longer legs in order to defend herself against other monsters, another attribute inspired by real moths. Dougherty researched various moth species and discovered some looked "scary" and "predatory". He wished to maintain a sense of realism for Mothra, stating, "So the approach for Mothra is to create an insectoid, huge creature that looks believable from every angle, and especially in motion." The director found Mothra the most difficult Titan to design because he wished to avoid making Mothra look like a blown up moth. Legacy Effects provided the design for Mothra. For King Ghidorah, Dougherty wanted to create a "unique" design that still resembled Ghidorah and worked closely with Toho to make sure the new design respected past incarnations. Each head was given its own personality, with the center being the alpha and the others beings its lackeys. He studied various animals, specifically king cobras, in order to add a sense of realism to the design. The designers were instructed to look at different scales from various reptiles to avoid having Ghidorah's scales looking similar to Godzilla or the original Ghidorah. The director told the design team to maintain an Eastern dragon influence for Ghidorah and to avoid any Western dragon influence, stating, "They’re not traditional western dragons. So those were marching orders from the beginning... We don’t want it to look like Game of Thrones’ dragons." Legacy Effects also provided the design for Ghidorah. While noting that the film is not a comedy, Dougherty likened Ghidorah to Rip Van Winkle, having a sense of curiosity and cruelty. Producer Alex Garcia described Ghidorah as "not part of the natural order." Dougherty confirmed that the film would feature original, non-Toho monsters. In March 2019, the names of the non-Toho Titans were revealed as Baphomet, Typhoon, Abaddon, Bunyip, and Methuselah. For the roars, the director felt it was important to "getting the noises right" and gave the sound designers a "super cut" of the monster roars from the Shōwa Godzilla films and had them start from there. He confirmed that the monsters would have new roars that will resemble the original incarnations. Dougherty used the Shōwa roars on a massive speaker system to use on-set for scenes where actors had to run from or react to the monsters. Pre-production In late January 2017, Millie Bobby Brown was the first to be cast for the film, marking it her feature film debut. In February 2017, Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga were cast as the parents to Brown's character. In March 2017, it was reported that O'Shea Jackson Jr. was in talks for a role in the film. In April 2017, Aisha Hinds was confirmed to join the cast of the film. In May 2017, Anthony Ramos, Randy Havens, Thomas Middleditch, and Charles Dance were added to the cast, and Sally Hawkins was confirmed to return. At the time, Ken Watanabe was named but not yet been confirmed to return but later, a press release confirmed Watanabe's return for the sequel. In June 2017, Bradley Whitford and Zhang Ziyi were added to the cast, with the latter playing a "major role" in the MonsterVerse. In July 2017, Elizabeth Ludlow was added to the cast. In April 2018, Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton were cast to provide the performance capture for the heads of King Ghidorah, with Dorton performing the left head, Liles performing the middle head, and Maxson performing the right head. Other actors will perform the body. Liles also provided the performance capture for Rodan. Filming Principal photography began on June 19, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia under the working title Fathom. Dougherty confirmed that the film would feature practical effects and creature designs by Tom Woodruff, Jr. Lawrence Sher had been confirmed as director of photography. Parts of the film were shot in the Historic Center of Mexico City between August 19–22, 2017. Dougherty announced the film had wrapped production on September 27, 2017. Post-production Visual effects for the film will be provided by Moving Picture Company, DNEG, Method Studios, Raynault VFX, Rodeo FX and Ollin VFX. Guillaume Rocheron will be the main visual effects supervisor. In November 2018, Dougherty announced that post-production on the film had officially ended. Dougherty revealed that an earlier cut of the film ran for three-hours. Music | recorded = 2018-2019 | venue = | studio = Air Studios, Dean Street Studios, Heaven Recording Studio (Hong Kong) | genre = Film score | length = | label = WaterTower Music | producer = Joe Augustine, Bear McCreary, Micheal Dougherty , Peter Afterman , Margaret Yen | prev_title = I Still See You | prev_year = 2018 | next_title = | next_year = | misc = }} On July 21, 2018, Dougherty revealed that Bear McCreary will compose the film's score, incorporating themes from Akira Ifukube's previous Godzilla scores. Regarding his involvement, McCreary stated, "I am thrilled to be the composer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and honored beyond words to have the opportunity to contribute to one of cinema's longest-running musical legacies." McCreary further expanded on his plans and involvement, stating; }} The first trailer featured a rearrangement of Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune by Michael Afanasyev for Imagine Music. The Beautiful TV spot and final trailer featured two different renditions of "Over the Rainbow". An alternate mix of Nessun dorma was featured in the extended IMAX preview. LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" was featured in the Exclusive Final Look trailer. In November 2018, a sample of McCreary's Godzilla theme was leaked online after it was used during a panel at Tokyo Comic Con. In April 2019, WaterTower Music released two tracks from the soundtrack, "Old Rivals" composed by McCreary and a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla" by Serj Tankian. Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan, and other members of Dethklok contributed to the Tankian cover. McCreary called the cover "the most audacious piece of music" he had ever produced in his career, citing the orchestra, choir, taiko chanting, taiko drumming, heavy metal rhythm section, Hoglan’s double-kick drums, and Tankian's vocals used to produced the track. McCreary adapted and incorporated various Ifukube themes to the score, stating, "For character Godzilla, I chose to incorporate and adapt the legendary Akira Ifukube’s iconic theme, and for Mothra, Yūji Koseki’s immortal 'Mothra’s Song'". The Japanese band Alexandros will contribute the single "Pray" for the film's Japanese release. On this decision, Dougherty commented, "we feel incredibly fortunate to have had contribute Alexandros such an anthemic song that captures not only the gravitas of the film, but also perfectly complements its dramatic conclusion." The single was released on May 13, 2019. Marketing In June 2017, Legendary's official Twitter account for Kong: Skull Island began posting videos revealing a timeline and background information of Monarch's discoveries, which teased elements for Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. During the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary revealed an image of a stone sculpture featuring Mothra, two larvae, and an egg. On July 12, 2018, two first-look images featuring Godzilla unleashing his atomic breath skyward, and Millie Bobby Brown and Vera Farmiga were released, along with a few plot details. On July 18, 2018, a teaser clip was released featuring Millie Bobby Brown and the viral Monarch website went live with documents providing information on the monsters. On July 21, 2018, the first trailer was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con and later released online that same day. In October 2018, Legendary Comics held a panel titled Godzilla: Secrets of the MonsterVerse at the L.A. Comic Con, which presented a sneak peek at the prequel comic Godzilla: Aftershock. In November 2018, a panel for the film was held at the Tokyo Comic-Con where Dougherty revealed concept art, a teaser for an upcoming trailer, and the S.H.MonsterArts figures revealing the designs of the Titans. That same month, Dougherty revealed a new image of Godzilla from the film with a caption from Verses 33 and 34 in Job Chapter 41 from the New International Bible. In early December 2018, teaser clips of Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah from a then-upcoming trailer were released online. On December 9, 2018, a new trailer premiered at Comic Con Experience. On December 10, 2018, the film's first teaser poster and CCXP trailer were released. On December 13, 2018, character posters for Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah were released. In January 2019, Dougherty released a new image of King Ghidorah via Twitter. In February 2019, four new character poster of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan were released to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In March 2019, the film was featured on the cover of Total Film which revealed exclusive photos and information. An extended preview was exclusively presented at WonderCon and CinemaCon. Warner Bros. attached the extended preview to all IMAX screenings of Shazam! and The Curse of La Llorona, while US theater chain AMC Theatres (of which the parent company of Legendary, Wanda Group, are a majority stakeholder in) attached the preview to their IMAX screenings of Avengers: Endgame.AMC Theaters on Twitter In April 2019, the main theatrical poster was released online. On April 21, 2019, the extended preview was released on HBO's streaming services. On April 23, 2019, the final trailer was released online. The Chinese investor and film marketer Huahua Media invested an undisclosed sum to market the film in China. The deal also grants the company participation in the film's box office. In May 2019, a Godzilla head was built on top of the Cinerama Dome to promote the film. That same month, the IMAX and RealD 3D posters were released. Robin Lopez created several TV Spots, titled Robzilla: King of the Mascots, promoting the film and the NBA Playoffs. The website Joe created a mock-trailer, titled Pugzilla: King of the Dogsters, by replacing the Titans with cats and dogs. The video received approval from Dougherty, who shared it on his Twitter. On May 22, 2019, a clip featuring Brown and Ghidorah premiered on The Tonight Show. On May 23, 2019, a new Chinese poster was released. Merchandise In October 2018, Legendary announced plans for a prequel graphic novel titled Godzilla: Aftershock. It will be written by Arvid Nelson, illustrated by Drew Edward Johnson and scheduled to be released in spring 2019. In November 2018, the S.H. MonsterArts figures were revealed at the Tokyo Comic-Con In February 2019, it was revealed that the film's novelization would be released on May 31, 2019 and the art book The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters would be released on June 4, 2019. In February 2019, NECA, Jakks Pacific, and Bandai revealed their toy lines for the film's monsters. That same month, the cover art for Godzilla: Aftershock was revealed. Godzilla: Aftershock was released on May 21, 2019. Release Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released on May 31, 2019, in 2D, 3D, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, except in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. The film was originally scheduled to be released on June 8, 2018. However, in May 2016, it was pushed back to March 22, 2019 and then again to its current release date. The film will also be released in ScreenX formats in some markets. In the United States, the film was given a PG-13 rating for "sequences of monster action, violence, and destruction, and for some language". In April 2019, a private screening was held for the press at Toho Studios in Tokyo, which was followed by a 30-minute Q&A with Dougherty and Ken Watanabe. In early May 2019, advanced screenings were held for audiences ahead of the film's release. On May 17, 2019, a VIP press screening was held in Los Angeles at the AMC Century City theater. The film had its red carpet premiere in Beijing on May 13, 2019. The film had its second red carpet premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18, 2019. A group of Taiko drummers delivered a performance signaling the opening of the ceremony prior to the actors arrival. Prior to the Hollywood premiere, Warner Bros. hosted a block party. A green-screen photo booth was made available that allowed attendees to be placed in scenes from the film. Regal Cinemas offered collectible tickets to IMAX attendees, along with a mini-poster of the ticket image. The collectible tickets were offered in two sizes: Standard (measuring 4” x 7.5”) and Godzilla-Sized (5.125” x 9.5″). Reception Box office , Godzilla: King of the Monsters has grossed $49 million in the United States and Canada, and $130 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $179 million. The film had a production budget between $170–200 million, as well as an additional $100 million spent on marketing. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Rocketman and Ma, and was projected to gross $55–65 million from 4,108 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $19.6 million on its first day, including $6.3 million from Thursday night previews, which was lower than the $9.3 million made by the 2014 film but more than Kong: Skull Island s $3.7 million. It went on to debut to $49 million, finishing first at the box office but below expectations. Deadline Hollywood said the film "lacked urgency", having released the first trailer over a year before the film came out, and not separating its appearance from previous Godzilla films. Worldwide the film was initially projected to earn around $180 million from 75 other territories in its opening weekend, for a global total of $230–235 million. It was speculated that the amount could go higher if the film overperformed in China, where it was projected to debut to $75–90 million. The film held early previews in China on May 25, 2019, where it grossed $2.5 million. King of the Monsters made $12.7 million from 51 countries on Thursday and $31.4 million from 75 countries on Friday, for a cume of $48.2 million through Friday. In China, the film grossed through Friday and Saturday. The film ended up grossing a total of $130 million internationally and $179 million globally, far below projections. Its largest markets were China ($70 million), the United Kingdom ($4.4 million), France ($2.6 million) and South Korea ($2.2 million). Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 222 reviews, with an average rating of 5.05/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters delivers spectacular kaiju action -- and reaffirms that cutting-edge effects are still no substitute for a good story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first two MonsterVerse installments, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 85% (with an average 4.5 out of 5 stars) and a 75% "definite recommend". Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing that it "has rare moments of visual splendour but they can't disguise a laughable script with a ramshackle narrative". Chris Evangelista of /Film gave the film a score of 6.5 out of 10, criticizing the human characters and writing that "The ultimate kaiju smack-down shouldn't be this boring". Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "C-", calling it "dark, wet, and inept". Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a negative review, writing that "When a movie is just nonstop monster action, guess what happens? It all becomes the new 'normal' and it becomes boring". Ben Travis, writing for Empire Online, gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and wrote "Globe-trotting but not adventurous, action-packed but not remotely exciting, utterly overstuffed and completely paper-thin." Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that the film "makes for a spectacular clash of the titans, but this one has a less commanding balance of schlock and awe" compared to its predecessor. Conversely, Alonso Duralde of the TheWrap praised the film for taking an "all-thriller-no-filler approach both to monsters and the human drama". Scott Collura of IGN.com gave the film a score of 7.8 out of 10, calling it "a fun exercise in giant monster madness that indulges in all the kaiju fights fans and even casual viewers could hope for". For Bloody Disgusting, William Bibbiani wrote "Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a big, kinda silly, but otherwise exciting blockbuster. It's gorgeous, it's epic in the extreme, and it features some of the most impressive monster fights you've ever seen. Maybe someday Americans will make a Godzilla movie that isn't just 'badass,' but which also works on another level and resonates in a meaningful way." James Whitbrook of Io9 said the film "is little more than beautifully stunning sound and fury, sadly signifying nothing for its human stars—beyond them being a vector in which the movie can thickly spread on some b-movie cheese that lends the whole endeavor a sort of 'classic monster movie with a modern budget' vibe." Sequel In September 2015, Legendary moved Kong: Skull Island from Universal to Warner Bros., which sparked media speculation that Godzilla and King Kong would appear in a film together. In October 2015, Legendary confirmed that they would unite Godzilla and King Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong, set for a May 29, 2020 release date. Legendary plans to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary's King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new." Godzilla vs. Kong is scheduled to follow up on March 13, 2020. Dougherty had expressed interest in directing a Ray Harryhausen-esque prequel set during prehistoric times exploring how primitive humans survived against the Titans, humanity's first encounter with Godzilla, and how their relationship with Godzilla was christened. References }} Notes Bibliography * External links * * Monarch Sciences website * * * * Category:2019 films Category:2019 3D films Category:2010s monster movies Category:2010s science fiction films Category:2010s sequel films Category:American films Category:American 3D films Category:American action films Category:American disaster films Category:American monster movies Category:American science fiction films Category:American sequel films Category:Apocalyptic films Category:Eco-terrorism in fiction Category:English-language films Category:Films about nuclear war and weapons Category:Films directed by Michael Dougherty Category:Films set in 2014 Category:Films set in 2019 Category:Films set in Bermuda Category:Films set in Boston Category:Films set in China Category:Films set in Colorado Category:Films set in Germany Category:Films set in Mexico Category:Films set in San Francisco Category:Films set in Sedona, Arizona Category:Films set in Washington, D.C. Category:Films set in the Atlantic Ocean Category:Films set on airplanes Category:Films shot in Atlanta Category:Films shot in Mexico City Category:Godzilla films Category:IMAX films Category:Kaiju films Category:Legendary Pictures films Category:MonsterVerse Category:Films with screenplays by Michael Dougherty Category:Submarine films Category:Toho films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Film scores by Bear McCreary